chapter_0066

66 – Indeed, the Leak is Matthew’s

66 – Indeed, the Leak is Matthew’s

[Is there a possibility that Majiya will also be invited to this server?]

Dohee had to doubt her own ears.

“Uh. You’re talking about our Majiya, right?”

[Yes, that’s right. I think if Momo and Maru come, other first-generation members will also join and enjoy the server… But I was curious about Majiya, so I asked.]

There should be some distinction between Majiya, the employee, and the members, but it felt like that line had disappeared, so Momo asked Wicker.

“Dohee is our employee, not a streamer, you know…? It’s a streamer server, so I’m worried that if someone who isn’t a streamer joins, it might raise unfair controversy.”

Wicker chuckled softly.

[I know. But you did a solo broadcast on the official channel this time. I think that’s enough to recognize you as a broadcaster.]

“Uh. Well, that’s true… but that was a monthly broadcast…?”

[The main one is monthly, but you’re still showing your face on the members’ broadcasts, right? You have a properly rigged character too.]

“No, no. I just wanted to clarify in case you misunderstood me as a virtual YouTuber. I’m really just an employee… .”

Wicker spoke firmly.

[Honestly, only in Parallel would people think that way; others wouldn’t see it like that. I think of Majiya as a unique streamer, not just an ordinary person completely unrelated to broadcasting.]

Hearing that made Dohee’s head spin.

Wicker was right.

Internally in Parallel, they had firmly established that ‘Majiya is an employee,’ and people treated her as an employee disguised as a virtual YouTuber.

But that was only within the Parallel fandom.

Those who didn’t know her would surely question, ‘Is this person a broadcaster?’ the moment they saw Majiya’s monthly review content.

Then, those who knew Majiya would start throwing clips around. But those clips would only showcase her presence in broadcasts.

People who came in through the broadcasts and clips would have no choice but to say, ‘What? She’s a broadcaster? Was the employee thing just a concept?’

They had almost ingrained in people that Majiya was just a simple employee, but they couldn’t hide her shining talent.

Of course, aside from those external circumstances, there was another reason Wicker was being so proactive.

[And there’s a reason I’m asking this.]

“Uh… what is it?”

[Three people have already asked me about this. They wanted to know if they could invite Majiya with a special invitation.]

If you set up API integration in the 64 Cubics collaboration server, the amount of sponsorship received while playing the server accumulates as server coins.

Based on Season 1, the exchange rate is 1 Wicker coin for every 10,000 won.

One of these coins becomes a gacha token, and various items that help enjoy the server come out in the gacha…

Among them, the item that appears with a 0.1% chance, an extremely low probability, is the ‘special invitation.’

In cash terms, it’s an item that you can only obtain by spending about 10 million won worth of Wicker coins.

But it’s worth its weight in gold. Unlike the regular invitation that you can get by grinding for a day or two on the server, there are no conditions like needing a certain number of followers or being a Ppajijik streamer, making it a true wildcard.

In other words, using the special invitation means Majiya can join the server without any controversy.

It’s a rare item created for that very purpose.

However, there hadn’t been any discussions about it within Parallel, and an external request for an invitation came first?

Dohee couldn’t help but be curious about who had asked such a question.

[Mugeon asked last month as soon as he called for the starting members. Last week, invitations were sent to Ronje and Serena, and they also asked a few days ago.]

“Okay, I can understand Mugeon and Ronje, but Serena…?”

[Isn’t it surprising? I thought about it for a long time too. I heard today that Maru is collaborating, so I decided to ask you.]

Stubborn hardcore users might still question Majiya’s qualifications.

But inviting someone with a special invitation is a privilege allowed by the server manager.

Still, the server manager usually cuts out anyone who might be problematic.

If Wicker, the server manager, has allowed it, there’s no need to ask further.

[Anyway, I hope you’ll consider it positively. If Majiya had no one she knew on the server, I would have hesitated until the end. But I heard there are quite a few people who know Jia in Mugeon’s crew and Ronje’s gaming group. I think the collaboration synergy will come out well.]

Dohee didn’t think long.

Having come this far, it was ultimately Jia’s decision, not hers.

“First… I’ll ask Jia and get back to you right away. Is that okay?”

[Of course~ I’m not sleeping today because I’m preparing the server, so feel free to contact me anytime.]

“Ugh… you always work so hard. We just enjoy it every time and can’t really give you anything in return…”

[Oh, come on. You’ll do a concert at the end, right?]

“Ah. That’s a given. We have to do that. It’s mutually beneficial for us to promote the kids too.”

[That’s enough for me. I’ve really benefited a lot from you guys. I’ll be waiting for your contact!]

* * *

As soon as I arrived at work, the Boss called me over, and the story she shared was surprising.

Three people were actually considering using a special invitation for me.

There must be plenty of eager newcomers wanting to join the server, so why me?

“Why me?”

“Well, it’s because you’ve done something until now. No, saying it like that makes it sound like I’ve done something bad. Anyway, it’s because we have a connection that I want to invite you. But since you’re our company employee, I wanted to ask for permission.”

I tilted my head, unable to follow the flow of the story.

I shouldn’t normally be invited to a large collaboration server like Wicker Town since I’m not a virtual YouTuber…

More than that, I could understand Mugeon and Ronje.

But why would Serena want to invite me?

She was the virtual YouTuber who ran over to greet me the moment she saw me during the I’m Wolf event.

One of the second-generation members of Rapitz, a corporate-affiliated virtual YouTuber group that competes with us for the top 2-3 spots in the industry.

We, as latecomers, have been working hard to catch up, and these days we’re neck and neck with the average viewers of the first generation.

So, it was truly puzzling that a virtual YouTuber from a competing company wanted to invite me.

During the I’m Wolf event, Ronje was the host, so he gathered people he liked for the game party.

But in the 64 Cubics server, anyone broadcasting on Ppajijik would gather.

Yet they specifically invited me?

If I were a virtual YouTuber, I might have suspected they were trying to poach me from a competing company.

But since I’m just an employee, I set that thought aside for now.

‘Did they see me as a Favorite or something?’

But that didn’t make sense either.

I hadn’t really done anything for them.

… I’ll just ask about this later.

“If I participate, will it help the first-generation members in any way?”

“Well… that depends on how you do it, right?”

“Is it okay if I promote the first-generation members on the server?”

“It doesn’t matter. In fact, it’s a large server where you can promote openly. There are often requests from the other side asking for introductions.”

That’s true; during the first season of Wicker’s 64 Cubics server, where the Boss and the first-generation members participated, the Boss even took the members on mounts and introduced them to his acquaintances.

Isn’t it the era of self-PR?

As long as I can introduce them without making the other party feel burdened, there’s no problem with continuing to promote.

Fortunately, I wouldn’t need to introduce myself.

I’m literally a true worker of Parallel.

I could just go and say, “Try our kids!” and serve them up, and surely someone would be genuinely impressed.

Right away, Mugeon was like that.

When he went to promote, he used to say, “Why watch virtual YouTubers?” but now he occasionally appears on Rain’s broadcasts, sponsors, and when cover songs are uploaded, he quickly comments to get his comment pinned at the top of the list.

No one knows when someone will be impressed.

The more promotion, the better.

‘It would be great if the promotion team could come in, but that’s not the case.’

I guess I’ll have to find Team Leader Oh Seok-jae from the promotion team.

I need to get some tips on how to promote without making the other party uncomfortable.

It would be rude to just ask for trade secrets!

Maybe I should buy him a drink or something.

“By the way, I heard Batchu Batchu KR is coming this time. What’s the status on that?”

“Ah. I don’t know yet. Wicker sent the invitation, but they didn’t give a definite answer, just a positive response.”

It’s a bit of a manly thought, but.

Batchu Batchu KR is the industry leader.

We’re still just a little sparrow, and they’re a gigantic Tyrannosaurus for us to compete with.

So, I felt relieved thinking they probably wouldn’t come.

Even if Rapitz and we are neck and neck.

We can’t beat Batchu Batchu KR right now.

Those guys built a 30 billion won studio in Japan and invite members from the Korean branch whenever they feel like it to produce high-quality content.

I’ve heard that not only in Korea but also in EN, IN, and other distant places, if the content is good, the company covers all flight costs.

How much capital do they have?

Not to mention, every time they hold a 3D concert, they drive people crazy with patented cutting-edge hologram technology. We can only look on enviously, lacking both that level of technology and capital.

Anyway, they’re such formidable competitors that it’s difficult to compete.

Our kids are amazing too, so personally, I don’t feel the need to avoid them.

But from a company perspective, it’s better if Batchu Batchu doesn’t participate for now.

And we need to work even harder when they’re not around.

Market share! Popularity! All indicators that can’t be achieved without promotion.

“Then. I’ll participate in that server.”

“… Really?”

“If you invite me, I’ll do my best to support the members. Before the server ends, I’ll aim to make sure everyone remembers the members’ names and promote them actively.”

The Boss looked at me with a worried expression and asked.

“But you’ve never played 64 Cubics before.”

“I’ve watched a lot. I roughly know how the server operates. Coincidentally, I’m playing 64 Cubics with Maru tonight, so I can gain as much experience as possible then, right?”

The Boss chuckled, flipping her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, well. You learn games really quickly…”

“So, are you inviting me, or is Maru inviting me?”

The Boss made a troubled expression.

“You know from the last server that I have terrible luck with special invitations, right?”

“Hmm. Then I guess I’ll have to break my savings.”

“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t say something crazy. The moment you break your savings, your head will break too.”

“But if I don’t, I might not get invited.”

“… Well, somehow it’ll work out. I mean, surely one of your invitation cards will come out among the five of us, right?”

I looked at the Boss with a doubtful expression.

“I have a feeling it won’t come out again, and you’ll just blow up.”

“Hey!”

* * *

The next day.

After receiving Maru’s invitation, I logged into the virtual world while at work again.

When I placed my avatar next to Maru’s avatar, everyone greeted me as if they were now used to it.

— Maha

— Maha

— Maha?

— There are two Mahas, haha

— Jaha~

— Jihahahahahahahaha

I was concerned about overlapping greetings with Maru, but since it was the second collaboration, it naturally became Jaha.

… Suddenly, I thought I heard the laughter of a furry pirate from somewhere.

Anyway, 64 Cubics.

As I introduced before, it’s a sandbox survival game where you dig the ground, mine minerals, gather materials, craft, smelt, make armor, create weapons, and fight monsters.

On average, the playtime until you defeat the final boss is about 48 hours for the first playthrough, which is quite long. To enjoy all the content, you need three times that.

Those who have consumed all that content bring in mods to chew, tear, and taste it. There are so many players that there are an overwhelming number of mods, and if you really get into the game, you won’t run out of content… but.

Maru is a fast-paced player who has consumed even that content.

Yet, he often abandons the worlds he was playing in and starts digging from the beginning again.

So much so that there was talk of changing his fan name from Donggeuri to something else—because 64 Cubics consists of square blocks made up of 64 pixels in width and height.

Anyway, Maru is the teacher.

There’s no problem learning from him.

[There are two ways to start. One is to begin completely in the wild and learn the game from scratch, and the other is to learn roughly what this game is like on the Parallel server.]

So if given this choice, I first think about how to make Maru’s broadcast more enjoyable.

How can I make Maru stand out more?

The first option. A game I’ve seen a lot but never played.

But since I’ve been invited to the server, I felt I needed to know it perfectly to support the members.

“I’ll learn in the wild.”

[Hmm. I thought you might say that, so I prepared a separate server.]

The wild. In other words, the vanilla version of 64 Cubics without any mods. Everyone was busy chuckling.

— Hehe, so it’s wild?

— It would be more fun if it were API integrated, but what a pity, haha

— I can already imagine about 39,515,012 scenes of the manager panicking

— It’s a game with a lot of unexpected elements, haha

They seemed to expect me to be startled by various accidents.

I had clearly said I wouldn’t be startled in a game with weapons.

I guess everyone forgot.

Well, anyway, there were almost no cases where progress got stuck afterward.

Whenever Maru taught me something, I often realized, “Oh, that’s it.”

Thanks to having monitored Maru’s broadcasts for a long time.

It was my first time playing, but I had seen it so many times.

[I made wooden tools. Now the next step is to make stone tools.]

However, in the end, Maru is the expert on the details.

Since he’s a good teacher, I understood everything clearly.

[Okay. I’ve made the full set of stone tools. Now it’s time for iron. For iron, you need to dig a bit underground to find it, so you need to prepare a bit before going down.]

I was surprised by how many preparations were needed before going underground.

I guess it’s because it’s a game with many survival-related elements.

Filling my bag with water, food, and various items felt like going to fill the spot with minerals.

When I see speedrunners, they seem to jump into the underground with just wooden tools right from the start. But that seems to be limited to skilled players.

So, I went down underground to mine iron.

Fighting off the monsters that swarm out of the darkness in a bloody battle.

[Ah! Zombies here! Skeletons! Witches! Ah! Why are there so many!!]

“I’ll take care of it.”

— All headshots here, haha

— Donggeuri is losing his hearing again today

— Why are you fighting so well? haha

— I just realized, Maru is the newbie, right?

— Why is the newbie protecting Ppajijik? hahahaha

— This isn’t the image of a newbie I was hoping for!!

Smelting the iron. Crafting the ingots into iron armor and tool sets.

Building a system that automatically turns mined iron ore into ingots.

Mining copper to make a simple generator, connecting wires, and then linking it to a waterwheel to produce electricity.

By the time I clapped hands with Maru while watching the iron I had mined automatically turn into ingots on the line, four hours had passed.

Before I knew it, the promised four-hour collaboration was over.

— Wait, has four hours already passed?

— It’s definitely tough in the wild.

— For real.

— There’s a reason they use mods to shorten the early game in the server, haha

[Phew. But still, this was fast. Complete newbies usually die or wander around underground, so getting this far is tough for them. Jia, have you ever played a similar game before?]

“I haven’t played any, but surprisingly, it fits my hands. Especially fighting the mobs was fun. Maybe it’s because of the headshots.”

“…Yeah, it seemed like it. Anyway, should we call it a day here? I have a cover song recording tomorrow, so I need to sleep early… I wish I could stay up with you all night, but I can’t, sorry.”

“No, this is enough.”

“Yeah, yeah. If you know how to do this much, you won’t have any problems adapting to most servers.

From the start, there are many cases where people skip developing even this far, so you can play however you want after this. Yeah, try mining diamonds first. The first diamond is always special.”

“I’ll try to mine some when I get off work and have time. Can I ask you tomorrow if I don’t know something?”

Maru seemed really excited that I was adapting well to the game.

…And that’s why I ended up saying something I didn’t need to bring up right now.

“Of course! Ask me anytime! If you keep going like this, you’ll be fine even on Wik-eo’s server. So, how was it today? Was it fun? The fun of leveling up and growing is quite something, right?”

I was about to answer, but I checked the chat first.

Because I hadn’t told them yet that I might participate in the Wicker Server.

— ?

— Wicker Server?

— Majiya is doing it too?

— What

— Majiya is doing the Wicker Server?

— ???

— Is this real?

:: Anonymous sponsor donated 10,000 Clouds! ::

:: As expected, leaks from MaTube lol ::